New MLI video makes the case for health reform

First entry in a series examines why Canadians spend more than other comparable countries but get worse results

OTTAWA, Feb. 26 – The Macdonald-Laurier Institute released on Thursday the first in its series of videos that presents in a new and accessible format some of the best thought leadership on the crisis of health care spending in Canada.

The video series, titled Medicare’s Midlife Crisis, examines how to improve a mediocre health care system that fails to deliver good value for money.

"Health care consistently ranks as one of the top preoccupations of Canadians, and yet there is a notable lack of discussion on how to protect and improve the quality of care received by Canadians”, says Brian Lee Crowley, Managing Director of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.

“This series of videos will make available, in a new and accessible format, some of the best thinking on these issues in Canada and abroad”.

Most critics of reform point to the United States as an example of why we shouldn’t tinker with our system.

But, says Globe and Mail columnist Jeffrey Simpson in an interview, this is not an ideal comparison. He says we would be better off seeing how we measure up to other countries like Great Britain and Sweden.

On this score, the video shows, Canada is not performing as well as our pride in Medicare might make us believe.

Government spending on health care is, as it stands now, unsustainable. This leaves less money in other important areas such as universities, roads and environmental programs.

“All of these things are being squeezed out just to fund the system”, says Janice MacKinnon, a former finance minister with the Province of Saskatchewan and author of the MLI report Health Reform from the Cradle of Medicare.

MLI will be releasing the rest of the four-part video series over the coming months.

The Macdonald-Laurier Institute is the only non-partisan, independent national public policy think tank in Ottawa focusing on the full range of issues that fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government. Join us in 2015 as we celebrate our 5th anniversary.

For more information please contact Mark Brownlee, communications manager, at 613-482-8327 x105 or email at mark.brownlee@macdonaldlaurier.ca.

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